18 replies to this topic

[JackHamilton]

As we all go thru withdrawls when info-LabVIEW is down...

LAVA is considering creating a backup of info-LabVIEW. We are considering an HTML web based mirror on conjunction with the daily eMail. The name would be info-LAVA (or something like that!)

We have the utmost respect for Tom C. and are awaiting his response to our requested. We would not run a list concurrently with info-LabVIEW - this would happen only if info-LabVIEW never returns.

We invite your comments & thoughts on this issue near and dear to our hearts! Please post your comments in the discussion group.

[regisphilbin]

must....get......my.....fix :shock:

[Jim Kring]

As we all go thru withdrawls when info-LabVIEW is down...

LAVA is considering creating a backup of info-LabVIEW. We are considering an HTML web based mirror on conjunction with the daily eMail. The name would be info-LAVA (or something like that!)

We have the utmost respect for Tom C. and are awaiting his response to our requested. We would not run a list concurrently with info-LabVIEW - this would happen only if info-LabVIEW never returns.

We invite your comments & thoughts on this issue near and dear to our hearts! Please post your comments in the discussion group.

Info-LabVIEW.org does provide web access to list postings. I think that there is concern about web-bots/spiders using such things to accumulate email addresses for spamming. I believe that there are certain precautionary measures in place to prevent this on the info-labview web access tools. This may be a concern in a mirror is put in place.

-Jim

[Jim Kring]

It looks like there is another outage that started on Friday 10/24/2003...

Jack, any word back from the Info-LV folks?

-Jim

[aledain]

I haven't seen any postings since Oct 17. I guess the list has been destroyed. Is their anyway of getting a posting out to all the listers so that we know what's going on with either Info-LabVIEW or a LAVA replacement?

cheers, Alex.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

Well, it looks like it's back again.

[aledain]

Wahoo! Now if someone could send me the digests for Oct17 onwards ...

cheers, Alex.

[Jim Kring]

Whew... that was a long one... almost a week (Nov 18th - 24th). Again, Jack (or Michael), any word back from the Info-LV folks?

-Jim

[Michael Aivaliotis]

Well, I zipped the messages since Oct. 17-2003 until today. If you have Outlook (sorry) you can view them... Here they are:

Download File:post-11-1073099085.zip

[aledain]

Thanks Michael. Just have to find a PC with outlook, but that won't be too hard.

cheers, Alex.

[JackHamilton]

Jim,

Sorry about not answering your question. But the last time I got an eMail response from Tom C. was about 10 years ago! Literally!.

He's never responded to anyone I know of. We'd at least like a backup of the info-LabVIEW distribution list so if a Trucks takes Tom out on the highway or the info-LabVIEW server. There will be one backup at least.

[gleichman]

:question: Is the list down? I have not seen any messages since yesterday afternoon (Jan 22). I stopped receiving messaages after I sent a message to the list.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

There was a post from Tom on Info-LabVIEW today regarding the future of that mailing list:

All: As you've probably noticed, the computer which serves up the Info-LabVIEW list has been going off-line fairly regularly as of late. Most notably, it seems, the problem occurs when I'm 2000 miles from the office and don't expect to be back for another week or two (computers are smart that way).

I have no idea what the cause of the problem is and, quite frankly, limited time to spend debugging it.

As I see things, there are two alternatives ahead. One would involve simply a continuation of the status quo. The second would involve moving the list to another server.

To that end, if you believe that you may have the ability and desire to take over running the list, please contact me privately and I will be more than glad to talk with you about what is involved and what my expectations would be for such a transfer.

Thanks.

                  Tom Coradeschi, Info-LabVIEW List Maintainer
                    <info-labview-owner@pica.army.mil>
                      http://www.info-labview.org/

I sent a personal reply to Tom offering the lavausergroup server as the new home to the info-labview mailing list. I hope he responds favourably so that we can keep this institution alive. :thumbup:

There is an ongoing debate comparing the pros and cons of a mailing list to web Forums. In my opinion, both have their place. It would be nice, in the near future, to see them both combined so that posts to the forums can be emailed out and posts to the mailing list can go to the forums. This is an idea that I have been experimenting with for some time but not fully implemented yet. Of course public opinion would steer the debate.

In any case, the LAVA server is here and ready. It also has the mailing list infrastructure to handle the new list. We already host the LAVA user group mailing lists.

Comments are of course always welcome.

[CraigGraham]

Well, the list seems to be down again so I'm back on here.

ISTR Tom C left Labview years ago and is only hosting this list for historical reasons.

Mailing out from the board to an email list would be easy- perhaps with checkboxes next to forums so users don't get all of the mails sent. Replying would be easy. I don't see a way of creating a new forum post via email. Not conveniently enough that people would use it and board admins would end up having to move every new thread originated on the mailing list into the correct forum. Not good for long term. When I say "easy" of course, I mean conceptually.

There's a place for a forum-based and mailing list-based *interface* to the same pool of knowledge, but having the two seperated dilutes the usefulness. I see names on here that I recognise from the list, but there must be people who are only on one.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

Well, I decided to put up an alternative Info-LabVIEW mailing list. Since it is a fact that many people refuse to use web based forums, I think a mailing list is essential. Right now, the original list is up and down. Here is the link to the new subscription page.

Alternative Info-LabVIEW mailing list subscription

I'm not trying to bully my way into anything. I just want to help the community. Feel free to sign-up and send messages. Time will tell of what will happen to the original info-labview list. In the meantime let's move on. If the original ever gets revived then I will shut-down my list.

[Jim Kring]

Michael,

I sent a personal reply to Tom offering the lavausergroup server as the new home to the info-labview mailing list. I hope he responds favourably so that we can keep this institution alive.

Has Tom emailed you back?

I'm not trying to bully my way into anything. I just want to help the community. Feel free to sign-up and send messages. Time will tell of what will happen to the original info-labview list. In the meantime let's move on. If the original ever gets revived then I will shut-down my list.

It would seem (to me) that there won't be many people signing up for this new list, until Tom give it his blessing. Most people that already read this forum are happy enough using a forum instead of a mailing list. Regardless, I applaud your initiative and support this transition of info-labview to a more stable environment. So, will Tom give you the info-labview members email list so that you can do a batch import? If users have to sign up for the new list manually, I'm afraid that many of the list members will be lost forever. It seems that to be successful you will really need Tom's blessing and assistance (in getting a member list).

-Jim

[Michael Aivaliotis]

So, will Tom give you the info-labview members email list so that you can do a batch import?  If users have to sign up for the new list manually, I'm afraid that many of the list members will be lost forever.  It seems that to be successful you will really need Tom's blessing and assistance (in getting a member list).

Yes, it would be a good start to get all the previous subscribers imported over. This, however can also happen at a later time. Right now we can just let everyone (including Tom) know the backup is there and there is a desire to continue. I've sent an email out to the list to let the existing members know and hopefully most will be willing to subscribe. Also, I think the existing members should have the choice to have their email address migrated over.

We'll just have to wait and see if Tom responds. As you know, he is very busy and this list is very low on his priority list.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

It looks like there is a solution to the Info-LabVIEW problems. Tom Coradeschi posted this announcement on the list:

Good afternoon, all. As you know, there have been a number of problems which have impacted the availability of the Igor and Info-LabVIEW mailing lists recently. I've asked the readers of both lists for their support in moving those lists to another server and in taking over the administrative tasks I've been performing.

As I fully expected, given the fine caliber of folks who use Igor and LabVIEW, a number of folks threw their hats in the ring. I'd like to start by publicly thanking Michael Aivaliotis, Scott Hannahs, George Gatling and Arlen Walker for doing so. I'm quite sure that all of them are fully capable of taking on the job and making sure that it will all happen. I have asked Scott Hannahs to take the reins and he has not only agreed to do so, but he has agreed to take both mailing lists over!

The lists will be run via an OSX server, housed in a real machine room, with admins on the job to keep it all running smoothly, backup power and all that other good stuff (a far sight from my shoestring setup, that's for sure!).

Scott and I are working the details of how we will manage the transfer. Right now, our strawman plan goes something like this:

o Shut down subscriptions on my machine here to freeze the subscriber list. o Transfer that list to the machine at Scott's site (National High Magnetic Field Lab at Florida State University) and install it there (both sites use the same software, so that will be relatively straightforward). o Announce the new email addresses and activate the lists at FSU. o Set my machine here to forward list mail to the new addresses (probably active for 30-60 days or so). o Turn off forwarding here and put an autoreply on those addresses pointing users to the new site (again, for some finite period of time). o Shut down my machine (a 6100/60, ie 1st generation PowerPC, in case you were wondering).

We expect the move to happen some time the last week of March or first week of April as it stands right now. More details will follow as they become available.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank some other folks who help out here: Brian Renken, who runs the info-labview.org website and Andrew Johnson, who bought us the copy of LetterRip Pro which makes these lists happen in the first place.

As I slowly fade from the scene, I'd also like to thank all of you for making this a really great experience. Way back when I was a heavy Igor and LabVIEW user, the lists made a tremendous impact on my ability to do my work here. Time has marched on and I do different things now, but the value of user communities like these is clear and real. You all can give yourselves a big pat on the back for making that happen!

Take care...

Tom Coradeschi
Excalibur Systems Engineering
tom.coradeschi@us.army.mil

Let's all thank Tom for his initiative to start the info-labview list way back when there was nothing else around. I hope the new home is much more stable and lasts for as many years as the previous one.

[aledain]

Thanks for the update Michael. Would it possible for you to place an announcement on this site when the new list is up and running. I am leaving my current job and have been wondering why I cannot seem to susbscribe my new email address. It all seems to be happening for the better ;-)